Donners AAMT, van der Zwet K, Rademaker CMA, Egberts TCG, Schutgens REG, Fischer K. The efficacy of the entire-vial dosing of emicizumab: Real-world evidence on plasma concentrations, bleeds, and drug waste.
Res Pract Thromb Haemost 2023;
7:100074. [PMID:
36915864 PMCID:
PMC10005899 DOI:
10.1016/j.rpth.2023.100074]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background
Prophylaxis with emicizumab provides effective bleeding protection in persons with hemophilia A (PwHA) but pressures healthcare budgets. The body weight-adjusted dosing at 7-, 14-, or 28-day intervals, according to the label, often mismatches the vial content. Entire-vial dosing resulted in therapeutic concentrations according to pharmacokinetic simulations and was introduced to avoid waste.
Objectives
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of entire-vial dosing of emicizumab by investigating real-world evidence of plasma concentrations, bleeds, and drug waste.
Methods
This is a single-center, observational study with PwHA receiving emicizumab in mg/kg doses according to label but dosing interval extrapolated to the nearest vial size. Patient characteristics and bleeds were compared 1 year before starting emicizumab and during emicizumab until January 2022. Concentrations were assessed at weeks 4, 12, and annually. The mean (95% CI) annualized bleed rates were compared by using negative binomial regression. Drug waste between label-based dosing and entire-vial dosing was compared.
Results
A total of 112 individuals (94% severe phenotype and 9% positive FVIII inhibitors) were followed for a median of 56 weeks (interquartile range [IQR] 52-68) before and 51 weeks (IQR 29-75) after starting emicizumab. The median emicizumab dose was 5.9 (IQR 5.5-6.2) mg/kg/4 wk with median concentrations of 63 (IQR 51-80) μg/mL. The annualized bleed rate of treated bleeds before emicizumab was 3.6 (95% CI 2.9-4.4) and was 0.8 (95% CI 0.6-1.1) during emicizumab (P < .001). Drug waste was reduced by 9%.
Conclusion
The entire-vial dosing of emicizumab is an attractive treatment option for PwHA leading to therapeutic plasma concentrations, good bleeding control, and drug waste avoidance.
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